Labour slumped to a record low in yesterday’s local council elections as it was swept from power in its last four counties.

The party faced losing more than 300 seats as its projected share of the vote plummeted to 23 per cent, leaving it trailing in third place in the last big test of public opinion before a General Election.

Gordon Brown admitted the party had suffered a ‘painful defeat’.

As I understand the term, ‘counties’ in the English part of the UK are somewhat more powerful than American counties, but not as powerful as American states: so this is only vaguely like the nearest American equivalent (one party losing control of all fifty state legislatures). Nonetheless, it’s an epic-level shellacking (when your candidates are being beaten by the guy from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party*, you’re in trouble) – and one that suggests that the EU Parliament election results are going to be down right fascinating…